Rosario's Return

The Broncos signed a familiar face in tight end Dante Rosario Thursday.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- When rookie tight end Julius Thomas went down with an ankle injury in Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Broncos were left with just two healthy tight ends on their roster.

So the front office looked for a player who was familiar with their scheme and personnel.

As fate would have it, that player just checked out of his Miami hotel he had been living in for the past few weeks.

"I feel like I'm traveling more than anybody else in the United States right now," Dante Rosario said. "I lived out of a hotel in Miami, and I'll probably do the same thing here. It's difficult; I'm not going to lie. It's not an easy thing to do, but I think that the guys that stay around this game for a long period of time, they make that adjustment, and they just realize that that's part of it and it happens."

Rosario spent all of training camp with the Broncos before being released when the Broncos trimmed their roster from 80 to 53 players earlier this month. He was subsequently picked up by Miami and spent the first few weeks of the regular season with the Dolphins before they released him this week.

But Rosario's roots with the Denver coaching staff are deeper than the time he spent with them this summer during training camp. The fifth-year tight end played in Carolina his previous four years under Head Coach John Fox. On offense, Broncos Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy and Offensive Line Coach Dave Magazu were also coaches in Carolina while Rosario was there.

"He did a nice job in camp here," McCoy said. "We had a bunch of tight ends throughout camp, so his opportunities were limited throughout training camp, but having worked with him before in Carolina -- myself and John and Dave and everybody -- we know what type of player he is.

"With our current situation, it was easy to go grab him."

The transition should be pretty smooth for Rosario, who knows most of the Broncos' playbook and thus, should be able to contribute right away.

"That's probably the best thing about the situation," Rosario said. "The good part is that I have been here. I was here during training camp, and like you said, I know the playbook, and I should be able to jump right back in it pretty easily."

Rosario said he's happy to be back in Denver, but he understands the nature of the NFL.

"For me, it's just about playing," Rosario said. "It's getting the opportunity, so if I end up here, that would be great. I mean, Denver's where I wanted to be from the beginning. If it's not here, then hopefully my performance on the field will prove to teams that I can play, and I'll get an opportunity somewhere else if not here."